Casino robbery suspect rejects plea deal

NEW LONDON — A Norwalk man is expected to go on trial next month on charges he robbed a patron of more than $3,000 in August 2010 in a Mohegan Sun parking garage.

Sharnon Lee, 36, rejected an offered plea deal Tuesday in New London Superior Court of a maximum eight years in prison, suspended after three years served, and three years' probation.

At his sentencing, his attorney, Philip Russell, would have had the right to argue for a shorter sentence.

Instead, his trial will start in the next couple of weeks, Judge Hillary Strackbein told Lee.

Lee, who is charged with first-degree robbery and second-degree larceny, faces a maximum of 30 years in prison if he is convicted of both charges.

According to police, Lee robbed a Mohegan Sun patron from Jamaica, N.Y., at about 7:30 p.m. on Aug. 8, 2010. The patron, who had cashed more than $18,000 in chips, distributed the cash among various pockets and his wallet, he told police, then returned to his car parked on the second level of the Indian Summer Garage.

The patron told police he sat down, then before he could close the car door, he felt something sharp poke the back of his head, he saw a man holding a 6-inch-long silver-bladed knife and the man told him to "give me whatever you have."

After denying that he had anything worth stealing, the patron gave the robber a wad of cash worth about $2,200 from one pocket and his wallet containing another $1,500 from another pocket, police said.

The robber then demanded the patron's cellphone, police said, which he handed over. The robber then said, "Don't move until I'm gone or I'm going to stab you," then ran off, police said.

Using surveillance video, state police spotted a suspect who they said seemed to be following the patron. The cameras did not show the robbery itself, police said, but the cameras picked up the suspect walking away from the vicinity of the patron's car, getting into an elevator, exiting on the sixth level and getting into a car. Police identified the car from its license plate as belonging to Lee.

The patron failed, however, to identify Lee as the man who robbed him, saying he never got a good look at his face, police said.

In an interview with police on Aug. 25, 2010, Lee denied robbing anyone, although he said he was at Mohegan Sun that night. His account of his actions contained several discrepancies, police said, including why he got off the elevator on the second level when his car was parked on the sixth level, and how much money he had lost gambling.

Police also traced the patron's stolen cellphone to Bridgeport, near Lee's mother's address, where Lee told police he had gone after leaving the casino. After police told Lee that, they said, Lee said he wanted to talk with his attorney before answering more questions.